# MBB Academics Committee ## Academics Committee Mind Brain Behavior FAS Instructional Committee ![abstract brain image](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2026-08/Good%2BEgg%2BIII_0.jpeg?h=ab01e28c&itok=WoIPxsIH) ## expand\_more Elizabeth Phelps *(Chair) (on leave spring term)*, Elika Bergelson, Gennaro Chierchia, Kathryn Davidson *(fall term only)*, Benjamin de Bivort, Yilun Du, Kathryn Franich, Samuel Gershman, Erin Hecht, Steven E. Hyman, Talia Konkle, Christopher Kuzawa, Jeff Lichtman, Jeffrey Macklis, Venkatesh Murthy, Charles Nelson, Bence Ölveczky, David Silbersweig, Alison Simmons, Ashley J. Thomas, Naoshige Uchida, Tomer Ullman *(on leave fall term)*, Lisa M. Wong, and Marinka Zitnik [### Elika Bergelson ](/people/elika-bergelson) [elika\_bergelson@fas.harvard.edu](mailto:elika_bergelson@fas.harvard.edu)John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences I study how infants learn language from the world around them, and in particular how infants and toddlers learn words. We approach this by studying learners and their environments. Understanding the learner requires probing the early mental... ![Elike Bergelson photograph](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/bergelson.jpg?itok=F7UQ3K23) [### Gennaro Chierchia ](/people/gennaro-chierchia) Haas Foundations Professor of Linguistics, FAS Main Interests: Natural language semantics and all of its main interfaces Recent Projects (still unpublished): "The Grammatical View of Scalar Implicatures" with D. Fox and B. Spector "On the role of entailment patterns and scalar implicatures in the... ![headshot of Gennaro Chierchia](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/os_web_pic_chierchia_2020.png?h=198fe7c0&itok=msfRT-eE) [### Kathryn Davidson ](/people/kathryn-davidson) Professor of Linguistics The logic underlying natural language (formal and experimental semantics and pragmatics), language development, sign languages, and bilingualism. ![kate.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/mbb/files/kate.jpg?itok=9qJajh8R) [### Benjamin de Bivort ](/people/benjamin-de-bivort) Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology The animal kingdom is renown for its behavioral diversity; we use the fruit fly to discover genetic and neural circuit mechanisms underlying behavioral differences between species, strains, and even genetically identical animals. ![headshot of Ben de Bivort](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/deBivort2023headshot_square_small-p-500.jpg?itok=8EBQpW55) [### Yilun Du ](/people/yilun-du-0) Assistant Professor of Computer Science ![headshot of Yilun Du](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/Yilun%20Du_600x900.png?h=264c4b85&itok=JUwZ7peS) [### Kathryn Franich ](/people/kathryn-franich) Assistant Professor of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences I study the sound systems of human language both from the perspective of how speech sounds are produced and perceived (phonetics) and the perspective of how they are structured in grammar (phonology). I direct the Phonetics and Phonology Lab (PhonLab)... ![headshot of Kathryn Franich in circle](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/Katie_CirclePic-768x768.png?h=e62a6d78&itok=NZwYnZ1A) [### Samuel Gershman ](/people/samuel-gershman) Professor of Psychology Gershman's research aims to understand how richly structured knowledge about the environment is acquired and how this knowledge aids adaptive decision making. ![gershman.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/mbb/files/gershman.jpg?itok=fpZzGrax) [### Erin Hecht ](/people/erin-hecht-0) [erin\_hecht@fas.harvard.edu](mailto:erin_hecht@fas.harvard.edu)Associate Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology Hecht's lab’s research asks how brains change in response to selection pressure on behavior, and how brains acquire heritable adaptations for complex, learned behaviors. Comparisons between modern humans and our living primate relatives provide a way to... ![photo of Erin Hecht](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/ErinHecht.jpg?h=d1bedb7c&itok=7DuZuPR0) [### Steven E. Hyman ](/people/steven-e-hyman) Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Director, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT Steven E. Hyman, MD, is Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and a Core Institute Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT where he directs the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research. From 2001... ![hyman.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/mbb/files/hyman.jpg?itok=lCtNsuIf) [### Talia Konkle ](/people/talia-konkle) [talia\_konkle@harvard.edu](mailto:talia_konkle@harvard.edu)Professor of Psychology MBB Director Talia Konkle's lab uses human functional neuroimaging to explore how representational spaces of the mind are mapped onto the surface of the brain. She focuses on high-level vision: how do we recognize and organize our knowledge about objects, scenes, and... ![headshot of Talia Konkle](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/mbb/files/taliakonkle.jpeg?h=75284653&itok=Ct_66S4X) [### Christopher Kuzawa ](/people/christopher-kuzawa-0) Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology ![headshot of Christopher Kuzawa](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/Kuzawa%20-%20headshot.jpg?itok=rMTbtB3L) [### Jeff Lichtman ](/people/jeffrey-lichtman) Jeremy R. Knowles Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology Santiago Ramon y Cajal Professor of Arts and Sciences I am interested in the mechanisms that underlie synaptic competition between neurons that innervate the same target cell. Such competitive interactions are responsible for sharpening the patterns of neural connections during development and may also be... ![headshot of Jeff Lichtman](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/2500_Lichtman_020.jpeg?h=d75ac1f2&itok=U-zI6LyX) [### Jeffrey Macklis ](/people/jeffrey-macklis) [jeffrey\_macklis@harvard.edu](mailto:jeffrey_macklis@harvard.edu)Max and Anne Wien Professor of Life Sciences, Harvard University Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School Our laboratory is directed toward both 1) understanding molecular controls and mechanisms over neuron sub-type development, diversity, axon guidance-circuit formation, and degeneration in the cerebral cortex (e.g. corticospinal motor neurons - CSMN - in... ![headshot of Jeffrey Macklis](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/macklis_jeff_hscrb_400x480.png?h=3bd76930&itok=IFGCjbEY) [### Venkatesh N. Murthy ](/people/venkatesh-n-murthy) Raymond Leo Erikson Life Sciences Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology Paul J. Finnegan Family Director, Center for Brain Science The Murthy group studies the physical, neural and algorithmic basis of olfaction using real-time techniques including psychophysics, physiology, optical microscopy and computation. The mouse is the main model system, but the group is beginning to explore... ![headshot of Venkatesh Murthy](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/venkimurthy_may2026.jpeg?itok=RsECJiJy) [### Charles Nelson ](/people/charles-nelson) Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School Nelson's research interests are broadly concerned with developmental cognitive neuroscience, an interdisciplinary field that requires expertise in developmental neuroscience and cognitive developmental psychology. His specific interests are concerned with... ![headshot of Charles Nelson](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/Charles-Nelson.jpeg?h=3cdb2de6&itok=E9MN_QL4) [### Bence Ölveczky ](/people/bence-olveczky) Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology We are interested in understanding the principles and mechanisms used by neural circuits to generate complex, learned behaviors. To this end we use both songbird and rodents, concentrating our efforts on understanding the process of motor sequence... ![headshot of Ölveczky](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/Bence.jpeg?h=abc5be4a&itok=UK5bwFrI) [### Elizabeth Phelps ](/people/elizabeth-phelps-0) Pershing Square Professor of Human Neuroscience Chair, MBB Academics Committee The primary inspiration behind Professor Phelps’ research is the observation that emotions color our lives, and even subtle, everyday variations in our emotional experience can alter our thoughts and actions. By uncovering the impact of emotion and affect... ![Elizabeth Phelps headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/Phelps%202025.jpeg?itok=CmI_Pbq_) [### David Silbersweig ](/people/david-silbersweig-0) Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Co-Director for Institute for the Neurosciences, Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School Dean for Academic Programs at Partners HealthCare Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry, HMS Particular areas of focus are the characterization of fronto-limbic modulation abnormalities across the neuropsychiatric spectrum. ![ds.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/mbb/files/ds_0.jpg?itok=ILpsUq2q) [### Alison Simmons ](/people/alison-simmons) Samuel H. Wolcott Professor of Philosophy, FAS Simmons research interests lie primarily at the intersection of philosophy and psychology. She works on questions about the nature of mind in general, and the nature of sense perception in particular, as they have treated historically from the ancient... ![headshot of Alison Simmons](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/ASimmons.jpg?h=b3326b36&itok=HJPImZWj) [### Ashley Thomas ](/people/ashley-thomas-0) Assistant Professor of Psychology Ashley Thomas studies what infants, toddlers, and children think about social relationships: how they think and feel about social hierarchy; how they interpret social interactions that involve their caregivers; and how they think about social intimacy. ![headshot of Ashley Thomas](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/AshleyThomas.jpeg?h=60e2c283&itok=j_P_XY-9) [### Naoshige Uchida ](/people/naoshige-uchida) Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, FAS Our laboratory is interested in neuronal mechanisms by which sensory information and memory about previous experiences guide behavior of the animal. Our main questions are: How is odor information coded and processed by an ensemble of neurons? What kinds... ![headshot of Naoshige Uchida](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/Uchida.png?h=c031df75&itok=JGKGkt06) [### Tomer Ullman ](/people/tomer-ullman)Morris Kahn Associate Professor of Psychology Department of Psychology I’m interested in the development of commonsense reasoning, and using empirical tools to build formal models of children and adults learn new intuitive theories. In particular my work focuses on people’s intuitive physics and intuitive psychology, their... ![headshot of Tomer Ullman](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/tomerWebpage.jpg?h=9f1b00cf&itok=k5A-OqbR) [### Lisa Wong ](/people/lisa-wong-0)Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital Lisa Wong is Associate Co-Director of the Arts and Humanities Initiative at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Wong is a pediatrician, musician, arts advocate, and author. She is a pediatrician at Milton Pediatric Associates and an assistant clinical professor... ![headshot of Lisa Wong](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/wong2-200x300.jpg?h=c7ed5db4&itok=ovHhpco-) [### Marinka Zitnik ](/people/marinka-zitnik-0)Associate Professor Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School Zitnik investigates foundations of AI that contribute to the scientific understanding of medicine and therapeutic design, eventually enabling AI to learn and innovate on its own. Marinka Zitnik is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics at... ![headshot of Marinka Zitnik](/sites/g/files/omnuum13266/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-09/marinka_zitnik.png?itok=RTOGeZAZ)